Systems and methods for generating stagger delays in memory devices

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device may include a number of memory banks, an output buffer that couples to the memory banks, a number of switches that couple a voltage source to the output buffer, and a stagger delay circuit. The stagger delay circuit may include a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit that outputs a current signal that corresponds to a data voltage signal received by the RC circuit. The stagger delay circuit may also include a logic circuit that determines a strength of the current signal and sends a first gate signal to a first portion of the switches based on the strength.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/924,757, entitled “Systems and Methods for GeneratingStagger Delays in Memory Devices”, filed Mar. 19, 2018, which is aNon-Provisional Application claiming priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/631,750, entitled “Systems and Methods for GeneratingStagger Delays in Memory Devices”, filed Feb. 17, 2018, each of theseapplications is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Present Disclosure

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field ofsemiconductor devices. More specifically, embodiments of the presentdisclosure relate to incorporating delays to account for variableprocess, temperature, and voltage properties associated with read andwrite operations for memory devices.

Description of Related Art

A semiconductor device, such as a microcomputer, memory, gate array,among others, may receive data that is to be written into a memory cellor read from a memory cell. When data is being received by thesemiconductor device, the semiconductor device may initially receive thedata (e.g., low voltage or high voltage) in an output buffer. To ensurethat the data produced at the output buffer is read accurately by acorresponding memory component, the output buffer should produce avoltage signal that has a certain slew rate, which may be defined as achange in voltage per unit of time (e.g., V/s). The slew rate may bedefined for each individual type of memory component based on certainproperties associated with the operation of the memory component, suchas temperature, voltage, manufacturing process, noise, and the like. Asmemory components become capable of producing data at higherfrequencies, the slew rate of an output voltage signal may become moredifficult to control. Embodiments described herein detail the design andarchitecture in which circuit components may be incorporated into asemiconductor device to control the slew rate of a provided voltagesignal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram illustrating certain features of amemory device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating stagger delaycircuitry within the memory device of FIG. 1, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an resistor-capacitor(RC) circuit that may be part of the stagger delay circuitry of FIG. 2,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example wiring diagram of a collection of switchesthat may be controlled via the stagger delay circuitry of FIG. 2,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a voltage signal having a slew rate that iscontrolled by the stagger delay circuitry of FIG. 2, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

As discussed above, for different process, voltage, and/or temperatureparameters of a memory device (e.g., double data rate dynamicrandom-access memory (DDR DRAM)), delays may be used to stagger theconnection of a voltage source (e.g., VDDQ) to the memory device tocontrol the slew rate of a voltage signal that is provided to the memorydevice. In DRAM, the slew rate corresponds to a change of voltage perunit of time and may be measured in volts per second (V/s).

With the foregoing in mind, when data provided to the memory devicetransitions from a low voltage value (e.g., VOL, output low voltage) toa high voltage value (e.g., VOH, output high voltage), the voltagesource may be coupled to the output buffer via a number of switches(e.g., metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET)) inphases to control the slew of the voltage signal provided to the outputbuffer. For example, two switches of four parallel-coupled switches mayinitially be turned on (e.g., closed) to connect the voltage source tothe output buffer for a first period of time and then all four switchesmay be turned on to connect the voltage source to the output buffer.When the output buffer is initially connected to two parallel-coupledswitches, the relatively higher impedance, as compared to the fourparallel-coupled switches, may cause the slew rate of the voltage signalprovided to the output buffer (e.g. via a capacitor) to be lower, ascompared to the slew rate of the voltage signal when all fourparallel-coupled switches are coupled to the output buffer.

Generally, different memory devices specify different slew rates forexpected voltage signals to ensure that a clock of the memory deviceaccurately produces the voltage signal that corresponds to output data.The specification may thus provide minimum or maximum limits on thevoltage slew rates under certain conditions (e.g. output loadings, datapatterns, and noise profiles). As such, the specification for the memorydevice may ensure that the speed of the voltage signal (e.g., outputsignal) transition will be at least the given minimum for driving thememory device but at most the given maximum for limiting high frequencynoise, which may cause undesirable effects, such as data bus ringing,voltage undershoots, voltage overshoots, and the like.

By way of example, if the data represents a binary 1, the voltage signalprovided to the memory device should be a high voltage (e.g., VOH).However, if the slew rate of the voltage signal produced by the outputbuffer coupled to the memory device is above a specified maximumthreshold, the voltage signal may exceed the expected high voltagevalue, which may damage the memory device and other devices in system.Conversely, if the slew rate of the voltage signal received by theoutput buffer coupled to the memory device is below a specified minimumthreshold, the voltage signal may not reach the expected high voltagevalue before the output buffer is sampled by the memory device based ona respective clock cycle. As a result, the memory device may incorrectlyproduce a binary 0 value, as opposed to the binary 1 value provided bythe data.

Keeping this in mind, the present embodiments include a system forcontrolling the slew rate of voltage signals provided to memory devicesthat may have high-frequency clocks. In one embodiment, a stagger delaycircuit, which is less variable due to process, temperature, and voltageproperties, may be incorporated into the memory device to reduce thevariable time delays between the staggering different connections (e.g.,phases, legs) between the voltage source and the output buffer to ensurethat the slew rate of the voltage signal is within a specified range.The stagger delay circuit may include a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuitthat receives a data signal that corresponds to a binary value. The RCcircuit may output an analog current value based on the provided datasignal and the resistance and capacitance of the RC circuit. The currentoutput by the RC circuit may be received by a logic circuit that maydetect the strength of the current output. The logic circuit may controlthe switching of different sets of switches that couple the voltagesource to the output buffer. To ensure that each set of switches areturned on (e.g., closed) after some constant delay, the logic circuitmay send a respective gate signal to the gates of each set of switchesbased on the strength of the current output. That is, the logic circuitmay send a first gate signal to a first set of switches when the currentvalue is above a threshold and may send a second gate signal to a secondset of switches when the current value is below the threshold. Byemploying the time delay associated with the RC circuit, the staggerdelay circuit may ensure that different sets of switches are turned onafter certain constant intervals of time, thereby controlling the slewrate of the voltage signal provided to the output buffer. In addition,the stagger delay circuit may be designed for less variable of process,temperature and voltage and thus, can improve the slew rate performancein the noisy, high frequency systems. Additional details with regard tothe operations of the stagger delay circuit will be discussed below withreference to FIGS. 1-5.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagramillustrating certain features of a memory device 10. Specifically, theblock diagram of FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustratingcertain functionality of the memory device 10. In accordance with oneembodiment, the memory device 10 may be a double data rate type fivesynchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR5 SDRAM) device. Variousfeatures of DDR5 SDRAM allow for reduced power consumption, morebandwidth, increased speed (e.g., clocking frequency), and more storagecapacity compared to prior generations of DDR SDRAM.

The memory device 10 may include a number of memory banks 12. The memorybanks 12 may be DDR5 SDRAM memory banks, for instance. The memory banks12 may be provided on one or more chips (e.g., SDRAM chips) that arearranged on dual inline memory modules (DIMMS). Each DIMM may include anumber of SDRAM memory chips (e.g., x8 or x16 memory chips), as will beappreciated. Each SDRAM memory chip may include one or more memory banks12. The memory device 10 represents a portion of a single memory chip(e.g., SDRAM chip) having a number of memory banks 12. For DDR5, thememory banks 12 may be further arranged to form bank groups. Forinstance, for an 8 gigabit (Gb) DDR5 SDRAM, the memory chip may include16 memory banks 12, arranged into 8 bank groups, each bank groupincluding 2 memory banks. For a 16 Gb DDR5 SDRAM, the memory chip mayinclude 32 memory banks 12, arranged into 8 bank groups, each bank groupincluding 4 memory banks, for instance. Various other configurations,organization, and sizes of the memory banks 12 on the memory device 10may be utilized depending on the application and design of the overallsystem.

The memory device 10 may include a command interface 14 and aninput/output (I/O) interface 16. The command interface 14 may provide anumber of signals (e.g., signals 15) from an external device (notshown), such as a processor or controller. The processor or controllermay provide various signals 15 to the memory device 10 to facilitate thetransmission and receipt of data to be written to or read from thememory device 10.

As will be appreciated, the command interface 14 may include a number ofcircuits, such as a clock input circuit 18 and a command address inputcircuit 20, for instance, to ensure proper handling of the signals 15.The command interface 14 may receive one or more clock signals from anexternal device. Generally, double data rate (DDR) memory utilizes adifferential pair of system clock signals, referred to herein as thetrue clock signal (Clk_t/) and the complementary clock signal (Clk_c).The positive clock edge for DDR refers to the point where the risingtrue clock signal Clk_t/ crosses the falling complementary clock signalClk_c, while the negative clock edge indicates that transition of thefalling true clock signal Clk_t and the rising of the complementaryclock signal Clk_c. Commands (e.g., read command, write command, etc.)are typically entered on the positive edges of the clock signal and datais transmitted or received on both the positive and negative clockedges.

The clock input circuit 18 receives the true clock signal (Clk_t/) andthe complementary clock signal (Clk_c) and generates an internal clocksignal CLK. The internal clock signal CLK is supplied to an internalclock generator 30, such as a delay locked loop (DLL) circuit. Theinternal clock generator 30 generates a phase controlled internal clocksignal LCLK based on the received internal clock signal CLK. The phasecontrolled internal clock signal LCLK is supplied to the I/O interface16, for instance, and is used as a timing signal for determining anoutput timing of read data.

The internal clock signal CLK may also be provided to various othercomponents within the memory device 10 and may be used to generatevarious additional internal clock signals. For instance, the internalclock signal CLK may be provided to a command decoder 32. The commanddecoder 32 may receive command signals from the command bus 34 and maydecode the command signals to provide various internal commands. Forinstance, the command decoder 32 may provide command signals to theinternal clock generator 30 over the bus 36 to coordinate generation ofthe phase controlled internal clock signal LCLK. The phase controlledinternal clock signal LCLK may be used to clock data through the IOinterface 16, for instance.

Further, the command decoder 32 may decode commands, such as readcommands, write commands, mode-register set commands, activate commands,etc., and provide access to a particular memory bank 12 corresponding tothe command, via the bus path 39. As will be appreciated, the memorydevice 10 may include various other decoders, such as row decoders andcolumn decoders, to facilitate access to the memory banks 12. In oneembodiment, each memory bank 12 includes a bank control block 22, whichprovides the necessary decoding (e.g., row decoder and column decoder),as well as other features, such as timing control and data control, tofacilitate the execution of commands to and from the memory banks 12.

In certain embodiments, the memory device 10 executes operations, suchas read commands and write commands, based on the command/addresssignals received from an external device, such as a processor. In oneembodiment, the command/address bus may be a 14-bit bus to accommodatethe command/address signals (CA<13:0>). The command/address signals areclocked to the command interface 14 using the clock signals (Clk_t/ andClk_c). The command interface may include a command address inputcircuit 20 which is configured to receive and transmit the commands toprovide access to the memory banks 12, through the command decoder 32,for instance. In addition, the command interface 14 may receive a chipselect signal (CS_n). The CS_n signal enables the memory device 10 toprocess commands on the incoming CA<13:0> bus. Access to specific banks12 within the memory device 10 is encoded on the CA<13:0> bus with thecommands.

In addition, the command interface 14 may be configured to receive anumber of other command signals. For instance, a command/address on dietermination (CA_ODT) signal may be provided to facilitate properimpedance matching within the memory device 10. A reset command(RESET_n) may be used to reset the command interface 14, statusregisters, state machines and the like, during power-up for instance.The command interface 14 may also receive a command/address invert (CAI)signal, which may be provided to invert the state of command/addresssignals CA<13:0> on the command/address bus, for instance, depending onthe command/address routing for the particular memory device 10. Amirror (MIR) signal may also be provided to facilitate a mirrorfunction. The MIR signal may be used to multiplex signals so that theycan be swapped for enabling certain routing of signals to the memorydevice 10 based on the configuration of multiple memory devices in aparticular application. Various signals to facilitate testing of thememory device 10, such as the test enable (TEN) signal, may be provided,as well. For instance, the TEN signal may be used to place the memorydevice 10 into a test mode for connectivity testing.

The command interface 14 may also be used to provide an alert signal(ALERT_n) to the system processor or controller for certain errors thatmay be detected. For instance, an alert signal (ALERT_n) may betransmitted from the memory device 10 if a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)error is detected. Other alert signals may also be generated. Further,the bus and pin for transmitting the alert signal (ALERT_n) from thememory device 10 may be used as an input pin during certain operations,such as the connectivity test mode executed using the TEN signal, asdescribed above.

Data may be sent to and from the memory device 10, utilizing the commandand clocking signals discussed above, by transmitting and receiving datasignals 44 through the TO interface 16. More specifically, the data maybe sent to or retrieved from the memory banks 12 over the data path 46,which includes a plurality of bi-directional data buses. Data TOsignals, generally referred to as DQ signals, are generally transmittedand received in one or more bi-directional data busses. For certainmemory devices, such as a DDR5 SDRAM memory device, the IO signals maybe divided into upper and lower bytes. For instance, for a x16 memorydevice, the IO signals may be divided into upper and lower IO signals(e.g., DQ<15:8> and DQ<7:0>) corresponding to upper and lower bytes ofthe data signals, for instance.

To allow for higher data rates within the memory device 10, certainmemory devices, such as DDR memory devices may utilize data strobesignals, generally referred to as DQS signals. The DQS signals aredriven by the external processor or controller sending the data (e.g.,for a write command) or by the memory device 10 (e.g., for a readcommand). For read commands, the DQS signals are effectively additionaldata output (DQ) signals with a predetermined pattern. For writecommands, the DQS signals are used as clock signals to capture thecorresponding input data. As with the clock signals (Clk_t/ and Clk_c),the data strobe (DQS) signals may be provided as a differential pair ofdata strobe signals (DQS_t/ and DQS_c) to provide differential pairsignaling during reads and writes. For certain memory devices, such as aDDR5 SDRAM memory device, the differential pairs of DQS signals may bedivided into upper and lower data strobe signals (e.g., UDQS_t/ andUDQS_c; LDQS_t/ and LDQS_c) corresponding to upper and lower bytes ofdata sent to and from the memory device 10, for instance.

An impedance (ZQ) calibration signal may also be provided to the memorydevice 10 through the IO interface 16. The ZQ calibration signal may beprovided to a reference pin and used to tune output drivers and ODTvalues by adjusting pull-up and pull-down resistors of the memory device10 across changes in process, voltage and temperature (PVT) values.Because PVT characteristics may impact the ZQ resistor values, the ZQcalibration signal may be provided to the ZQ reference pin to be used toadjust the resistance to calibrate the input impedance to known values.As will be appreciated, a precision resistor is generally coupledbetween the ZQ pin on the memory device 10 and GND/VSS external to thememory device 10. This resistor acts as a reference for adjustinginternal ODT and drive strength of the IO pins.

In addition, a loopback signal (LOOPBACK) may be provided to the memorydevice 10 through the IO interface 16. The loopback signal may be usedduring a test or debugging phase to set the memory device 10 into a modewherein signals are looped back through the memory device 10 through thesame pin. For instance, the loopback signal may be used to set thememory device 10 to test the data output (DQ) of the memory device 10.Loopback may include both a data and a strobe or possibly just a datapin. This is generally intended to be used to monitor the data capturedby the memory device 10 at the IO interface 16.

In certain embodiments, the memory device 10 may receive data to bewritten into the memory bank 12 via a DQ multiplexer (MUX) 48. The datamultiplexed via the DQ MUX 48 may be provided to stagger delay circuit50, which may be coupled to the IO interface 16. As mentioned above, thestagger delay circuit 50 may include circuit components that control aslew rate of the voltage signal provided to an output buffer, which maybe coupled to the IO interface 16. The voltage signal represents thedata provided to the IO interface 16. Additional details with regard tothe components and operation of the stagger delay circuit 50 will bedescribed below with reference to FIGS. 2-5.

As will be appreciated, various other components such as power supplycircuits (for receiving external VDD and VSS signals), read/writeamplifiers (to amplify signals during read/write operations),temperature sensors (for sensing temperatures of the memory device 10),etc., may also be incorporated into the memory system 10. Accordingly,it should be understood that the block diagram of FIG. 1 is onlyprovided to highlight certain functional features of the memory device10 to aid in the subsequent detailed description.

Keeping the foregoing in mind, FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of thestagger delay circuit 50 and the components therein. As mentioned above,the stagger delay circuit 50 may receive data via the DQ MUX 48, whichmay multiplex data to the stagger delay circuit 50 based on the phasecontrolled internal clock signal LCLK. The incoming data may be providedto a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit 62. The RC circuit 62 may be anysuitable RC electrical circuit that may be driven by a voltage orcurrent source. The RC circuit 62 may be designed based on thespecifications of the memory device 10 to enable the stagger delaycircuit 50 to provide timing signals to certain switches. FIG. 3illustrates example components that may be part of the RC circuit 62.

Referring to FIG. 3, the RC circuit 62 may include a number of fusecircuits 64 that may control the amount of resistance present in the RCcircuit 62 and a capacitor 66. That is, each fuse circuit 64 may becoupled to each other in parallel, in series, or in some other suitablecombination, such that the equivalent resistance of all of the fusecircuits 64 may provide some resistance value. Based on differentproperties of each individual memory device 10 and the ability of thestagger delay circuit 50 to provide timing signals with appropriatedelays to ensure that the slew rate of the voltage signal provided tothe output buffer is within a specified range, certain fuse circuits 64may be shorted or removed to adjust the total resistance of the RCcircuit 62. That is, when data is received by the RC circuit 62, thecurrent charging the capacitor 66 may initially be higher as compared tothe current received by the capacitor 66 as the capacitor 66 charges.The initial current received by the capacitor 66 may be a may beV_(data)/R, where V_(data) corresponds to the received data voltage andR corresponds to the equivalent resistance of the RC circuit 62. As thecapacitor 66 charges, the current received by the capacitor 66 isreduced according to the properties of the RC circuit 62.

Keeping this in mind and referring back to FIG. 2, the current chargingthe capacitator 66 may be output by the RC circuit 62 and provided to alogic circuit 68. The logic circuit 68 may include hardware components(e.g., flip-flops) or a processor that performs certain logicoperations. In certain embodiments, the logic circuit 68 may be anoutput drive strength (ODS) logic circuit for reading data, an on-dietermination (ODT) logic circuit for writing data, and the like. Thelogic circuit 68 may output a number of gate signals via wires 70, whichmay be coupled to certain switches 72.

The switches 72 may be any suitable switch circuit (e.g., MOSFET) thatmay open or close based on a provided gate signal. As shown in FIG. 2,the switches 72 may couple a voltage source (e.g., VDDQ) to the outputbuffer (e.g., IO interface 16). Each switch 72 may represent a leg orphase in which the voltage source VDDQ may be coupled to the outputbuffer. In some embodiments, each leg may include a resistor (not shown)such that the line impedance of the connected switches 72 (e.g.,internal switch on-resistance) and legs may be equal to some value,which may be specified by the memory device 10. For example, if thememory device 10 expects a 34-ohm line resistance to be present on thedata path 46, seven switches 72 may be coupled together in parallel,such that each leg may include a 270-ohm resistor to provide a 34-ohmequivalent resistance when all seven of the switches 72 are closed.

To control the slew rate of the voltage provided to the data path 46 viathe voltage source VDDQ, the logic circuit 68 may control the manner inwhich the switches 72 are closed. That is, if each of the switches 72 isclosed at the same time, the voltage provided to the data path (e.g.,via capacitor 74) may quickly rise to the voltage value of the voltagesource VDDQ. In some cases, the voltage provided to the data path 46 mayovershoot the voltage value of the voltage source VDDQ. To avoidovershooting the voltage value and to control the slew rate of thevoltage signal provided on the data path 46, the logic circuit 68 mayoutput gate signals to different sets of switches 72 or legs at certainintervals of time.

Generally, the logic circuit 68 may receive a current signal via the RCcircuit 62 and determine a strength of the current signal based on thecurrent value. Based on the strength of the current signal, the logiccircuit 68 may send a gate signal to a set of switches 72. For example,FIG. 4 illustrates an example wiring diagram between the logic circuit68 and seven switches 72. Although FIG. 4 depicts seven switches 72 thatcouple the voltage source VDDQ to the data path 46, it should be notedthat the seven switches 72 are merely an example number of switches thatmay be included in the present embodiments described herein. Indeed, anysuitable number of switches 72 may be employed in the presentembodiments. The number of switches 72 may be determined based on anexpected line impedance associated with the memory device 10, a range ofacceptable slew rates for the voltage signal received at the data path46, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the logic circuit 68 may be coupled to the switches72 of phase 82 (e.g., collection of legs or switches 72), the switches72 of phase 84, and the switches 72 of the phase 86 via wires 92, 94,and 96, respectively. The wires 92, 94, and 96 may include any suitableelectrical wiring mechanism including wires, solder connections, etchedconductive paths, and the like. In any case, each respective wire 92,94, and 96 is coupled to a gate of a respective switch 72 of the phases82, 84, and 86.

By way of operation, the logic circuit 68 may receive the current signalvia the RC circuit 62, as discussed above, and determine whether thecurrent signal is above a first threshold. Initially, the current signalmay be high as the capacitor 66 is initially being charged. As such, thecurrent signal may initially be above the first threshold, and the logiccircuit may send a gate signal to the switches 72 of phase 82 via wire92.

For illustrative purposes, FIG. 5 depicts an example voltage waveform100 of a voltage signal 102 that may be provided to the data path 46 viathe switches 72 of the example circuit depicted in FIG. 4. As such,referring both to FIGS. 4 and 5, at time t0, the logic circuit 68 mayoutput a gate signal to the switches 72 of the phase 82, thereby causingthe voltage signal 102 to rise according to a first slew rate 104. Thatis, the three switches 72 may couple the voltage source VDDQ to the datapath 46. In this way, if each leg of the phase 82 included a 240-ohmresistance, the equivalent resistance of the phase 82 would be 80 ohms(i.e., three parallel-connected 240-ohm resistors), which may affect theslew rate 104 of the voltage signal 102.

After the current signal received at the logic circuit 68 via the RCcircuit 62 drops below the first threshold at time t1, the logic circuit68 may send a gate signal to the switches 72 of the second phase 84. Asa result, five switches 72 may couple the voltage source VDDQ to thedata path 46. Assuming that the resistance of each leg is 240 ohms, theequivalent resistance of the connection between the voltage source VDDQand the data path 46 is now 48 ohms, thereby causing the voltage signal102 to adjust to slew rate 106 at time t1, as shown in FIG. 5.

At time t2, the current signal received at the logic circuit 68 via theRC circuit 62 drops below a second threshold. As such, the logic circuit68 may send a gate signal to the switches 72 of the third phase 86,thereby cause seven switches 72 to couple the voltage source VDDQ to thedata path 46. Again, assuming that the resistance of each leg is 240ohms, the equivalent resistance of the connection between the voltagesource VDDQ and the data path 46 is now approximately 34 ohms.Accordingly, the voltage signal 102 may again adjust to slew rate 108 attime t2, as shown in FIG. 5.

In certain embodiments, the thresholds that the logic circuit 68 may useto trigger the transmission of gate signals to different phases may becoordinated such that the delay between each transmission is constant orsubstantially constant (e.g., within 5%). As such, when determining thethresholds to employ, the logic circuit 68 may account for the number ofphases of switches 72 that are present, a minimum slew rate specifiedfor the memory device 10, a maximum slew rate for the memory device 10,the clock frequency in which the memory device 10 may read or writedata, the voltage value of the voltage source VDDQ, and the like. Ingeneral, the thresholds may be selected such that the voltage signal 102has a slew rate within the specified range and such that the timeintervals between when gate signals are transmitted to separate phasesare substantially uniform or constant. As memory devices 10 operate atshorter clock cycles (e.g., up to 3200 MHz or 325 ps), the switches 72of different phases should be coordinated in such a manner to close atpredictable times to ensure that the desired slew rate of the voltagesignal 102 is achieved to enable the memory device 10 to sample thevoltage signal 102 at a time in which the desired voltage value has beenreached.

Moreover, although the stagger delay circuit 50 described herein isdetailed as having seven legs and three phases of switches 72, it shouldbe understood that this description of the stagger delay circuit 50 isprovided as an example. That is, the stagger delay circuit 50 mayinclude any suitable number of switches 72 grouped together in anysuitable number of phases to control the slew rate of the voltage signalprovided to the output buffer.

While the present disclosure may be susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and have been described in detail herein.However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, thepresent disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents,and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure as defined by the following appended claims.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device, comprising: a pluralityof memory banks; an output buffer configured to couple to the pluralityof memory banks; a plurality of switches configured to couple a voltagesource to the output buffer; and a stagger delay circuit, comprising: aresistor-capacitor (RC) circuit configured to output a current signalthat corresponds to a data voltage signal received by the RC circuit;and a logic circuit configured to: determine a strength of the currentsignal; and send a first gate signal to a first portion of the pluralityof switches based on the strength, wherein the first gate signal isconfigured to cause each of the first portion of the plurality ofswitches to close.
 2. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein thelogic circuit is configured to send the first gate signal in response toa current value of the current signal being above a first threshold. 3.The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the current signal isconfigured to decrease in value while charging a capacitor of the RCcircuit.
 4. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the logiccircuit is configured to send a second gate signal to a second portionof the plurality of switches in response to a current value of thecurrent signal being below a first threshold.
 5. The semiconductordevice of claim 4, wherein the logic circuit is configured to send athird gate signal to a third portion of the plurality of switches inresponse to the current value of the current signal being below a secondthreshold.
 6. The semiconductor device of claim 5, wherein a first timeinterval between sending the first gate signal and sending the secondgate signal is substantially equal to a second interval between sendingthe second gate signal and the third gate signal.
 7. The semiconductordevice of claim 1, wherein the logic circuit is configured to adjust aslew rate of a voltage signal provided to the output buffer.
 8. Thesemiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the RC circuit comprises aplurality of fuses configured to adjust a resistance of the RC circuit.9. A method for controlling one or more operations of a semiconductordevice, comprising: receiving, at a circuit, a current signal from aresistor-capacitor (RC) circuit, wherein the current signal correspondsto data received by the RC circuit; determining, at the circuit, astrength of the current signal; and transmitting, from the circuit, afirst gate signal to a first set of switches within the semiconductordevice based on the strength of the current signal, wherein the firstgate signal is configured to cause the first set of switches to couple avoltage source to an output buffer, and wherein the output buffer isconfigured to couple to one or more memory banks.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, comprising transmitting, from the circuit, a second gate signalto a second set of switches configured to couple the voltage source tothe output buffer.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second gatesignal is transmitted in response to the strength being below athreshold.
 12. The method of claim 10, comprising transmitting a thirdgate signal to a third set of switches configured to couple the voltagesource to the output buffer in response to the strength being below asecond threshold.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first gatesignal is transmitted at a first time, the second gate signal istransmitted at a second time, and the third gate signal is transmittedat a third time, wherein a first time interval between first time andthe second time is substantially equal to a second time interval betweenthird second time and the third time.
 14. The method of claim 9, whereinthe first gate signal is transmitted in response to the strength beingabove a threshold.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the threshold isdetermined based on a target slew rate of a voltage signal provided tothe output buffer.
 16. A system comprising a processor for controllingone or more operations of a semiconductor device, wherein the processoris configured to: receive a current signal from a resistor-capacitor(RC) circuit, wherein the current signal corresponds to data received bythe RC circuit; determine a strength of the current signal; and transmita first gate signal to a first set of switches within the semiconductordevice based on the strength of the current signal, wherein the firstgate signal is configured to cause the first set of switches to couple avoltage source to an output buffer, and wherein the output buffer isconfigured to couple to one or more memory banks.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the first gate signal is transmitted in response to acurrent value of the current signal being above a first threshold. 18.The system of claim 16, wherein the current signal is configured todecrease in value while charging a capacitor of the RC circuit.
 19. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to send a secondgate signal to a second portion of the plurality of switches in responseto a current value of the current signal being below a first threshold.20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to senda third gate signal to a third portion of the plurality of switches inresponse to the current value of the current signal being below a secondthreshold.